DEFINING AND NONDEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES Read the sentences Are they the same or different? Ann’s sister who is a Ann’s sister, who is a tennis champion visited her last weekend tennis champion, visited her last weekend Has Ann got more Has Ann got more than one sister? YES than one sister? NO Defining relative clauses They give ESSENTIAL INFORMATION We DON’T USE COMMAS in them Ann’s sister who is a tennis champion visited her last weekend The table whose legs are broken is at the back of the classroom Non-defining relative clauses They give EXTRA INFORMATION We USE COMMAS in them Ann’s sister, who is a tennis champion, visited her last week (We probably know that Ann has got only one sisiter) Charles Dickens, whose novel Oliver Twist we read last term, was born two hundred years ago (We already know that Ch.Dickens wrote Oliver Twist) Non-defining relative clauses are also called non-essential relative clauses VERY You cannot omit the pronoun in non-defining relative clauses IMPORTANT That cannot replace who or which ... Ch.Dickens wrote Oliver Twist) Non -defining relative clauses are also called non- essential relative clauses VERY You cannot omit the pronoun in non -defining relative clauses IMPORTANT That cannot... her last weekend The table whose legs are broken is at the back of the classroom Non -defining relative clauses They give EXTRA INFORMATION We USE COMMAS in them Ann’s sister, who is... weekend Has Ann got more Has Ann got more than one sister? YES than one sister? NO Defining relative clauses They give ESSENTIAL INFORMATION We DON’T USE COMMAS in them Ann’s sister